Student / Site Member Feature

Favorites

This is one of the many features and benefits that ALL active student and Gold plan site members receive.

Use the favorite button to tag your favorite lessons and songs that you are working on or really like.

Use the completed button to tag your favorite lessons that you have completed. With over 500 lessons it can be hard to track just what you have already worked on or visited.

Member Access Levels

These bronze, silver and gold medals, like the Olympic medals) indicate that this lesson is either a public and free lesson, song or book , a FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership or a PREMIUM membership lesson .

Bronze indicates that this is a public lesson with with access to any registered visitor - no need to sign-in up for a site membership. Registered visitors can view most of the content on-line only and with smaller thumbnails. No access to downloads, play-along tracks and related lessons material for download.

Silver is the Almost FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership level where limited availability of downloads and all lesson material can be viewed on-line. This membership level can view thumbnails of the entire lesson - however only the downloaded file insures the latest and greatest lesson - the extra production step with updating the thumbnails doesn't always happen.

Gold This is the Premium membership level that, in addition to downloading ALL lesson content can access ALL the premium play-along tracks - and email me any questions that would like answered. Especially things like what you are working n and I can probably point you to the right lessons or series of lessons. This level also has access to most of my ( Curt Sheller ) books for free download.

Each membership level has access to ALL the lower membership lessons, books and songs.

by Chuck Anderson,
Curt Sheller Publications

Cut Time is a source of confusion for many musicians. What exactly does it mean and how do you apply it?

Too often cut time is thought of as having two beats in a measure. There are not two beats in a measure of cut time - there are four beats in a measure of cut time. So what makes this different than common time ie four beats in the measure?

The confusion all centers on understanding the difference between the concepts of beats and pulses. It certainly doesn’t help that virtually everyone who counts off cut time does so with a 1 - 2 1 - 2 count. The confusion about the beats is understandable especially with this misleading counting convention. The 1 -2 1-2 is accounting for the two pulses in the measure not two beats.

In traditional common time, each beat is represented by a foot tap. Four beats in a measure - four taps of the foot. If you don’t tap your foot, think of a metronome which clicks on each of the four beats.

When you play in cut time, the beat will feel slower but it’s an illusion. The beat itself is exactly the same speed as it was in common time. It’s your foot or the pulse that’s moving half as fast.

Think of a measure of four in two equal halves. Beats one and two represent the first half of the measure and beats three and four represent the second half of the measure. The first half of the measure gets the first tap or click. The second half of the measure gets the second tap or click - two pulses to the measure.

Here’s a simple example: Four quarter notes in a measure of common time. The foot tap or click occurs on each quarter note. If the quarter notes were to be read in cut time, the foot would now tap on beats one and three. The speed of the quarter notes would remain the same as if being read in common time.
Since the foot now taps on beats one and three, the “feel” of cut time is established. Although I’ve never heard anyone do it, I always felt that the count off for cut time should be 1 - 3 1 - 3 not 1 - 2 1 - 2.

When is cut time used? Broadway music, sambas, polkas, bluegrass, classical, many ethnic forms and anytime the tempo gets so fast that it would be unwieldy to count and tap in four. In the case of a runaway tempo, the cut time is used as a convenience, sometimes a self defense. In all the other situations, it is intended to produce a definite and distinctive feel.

When chords are being played in cut time on piano, the root is played on the left hand on beat one, the chord on the right hand on beat two, the fifth on the left hand on beat three and the chord on the right hand on beat four. The bass notes on beat one and on beat three create a strong stress that is responsible for the “two” feel of cut time. A guitar player hits a bass note on one, a chord on two, an alternate bass note on three and a chord on four. These are all down strokes and produce the characteristic “Boom - Chuck’ sound. These piano and guitar applications are both in the accompaniment role not the reading melody role.

Cut time is not as difficult as it seems. Play melodies in four and then in cut time so that you can see and feel the difference and similarities between them. You’ll find that they’re not as incompatible or as difficult as you feared!

Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books! — Peter Rhee

Aloha, Curt, All I can say is WOW! What you have accomplished is simply incredible! All the best — Glen Hirabayashi, The Aloha Boys

Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too. — Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg

I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books — I have four of them and they are excellent. — fatveg — Portland

Thanks for visiting and checking out the site!

Content is added and updated almost daily - so check back often.

LearningUkulele.com has one of the largest collections of lessons, songs, and TABS, luthiers, ukulele builders, ukulele festival and club information, and, ukulele links on the web. I’ve been on the ®Internet since the early 1990's and This site just never stops growing!!!

PICS ARE FROM VARIOUS LINKS. FAIR USE NOTICE:: This site contains images of which have not been pre-authorized. This material is made available for the purpose of analysis, teaching, comment and critique. The 'fair use' of such material is provided for under U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with U.S. Code Title 17, Section 107, material on this site (along with credit links and attributions to original sources) is viewable for educational and intellectual purposes. (frwebgate.access.gpo.gov)

If you are interested in using any copyrighted material from this site for any reason that goes beyond 'fair use,' you must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.

This sit has ben profesionaly red. awl tpyos aree free and no aditonal chrge • I'm blaming it on “jazz” fingers
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.